Three Years
by malaga
Summary: Lisa died in the ruins of Torchwood One, and Ianto Jones left Torchwood. Unfortunately, they were still searching for him, and a chance run in with Captain Jack Harkness spells disaster. AU, canon slash. IJ/JH
1. Chapter 1

Around one man, rubble extended as far as the eye could see, dust hanging in the air and the screams of victims intermingling with those of sirens in the distance. One sound drowned them out though; the sound of his shouting.

"Lisa! Lisa!" he yelled, as he'd been doing since he first came back from the morning snack run to see the devastation. He still gripped a brown paper bag with a blueberry danish in one hand - a treat to be snuck to the woman he was calling for.

Movement caught his eye, and he ran over and dropped to his knees, uncaring of the hard concrete beneath him or the grime that was covering his expensive suit.

"Lisa…" He leaned down, ran his finger gently over her cheek. "Don't try to talk. It'll be alright, you'll see." Tears ran down his face now that the reality of what had occurred sank in.

"Ianto." Her voice was raspy and weak, and he tried to shush her, get her to save her strength. "I love you, Ianto." Her eyes fluttered closed, but she was smiling up at him.

"I love you too. I love you too." He was smiling back as he pulled her close, and held tight until all vestiges of warmth had left her body. Then, he stood up slowly, brushed the dirt and dust from himself, and walked away from the wreckage, away from London, and away from Torchwood.

Three Years Later…

Jack looked around the club with a pout on his face. The first night off he'd had in months, and there was no one pretty out. He glanced in the mirror behind the bar and grinned. One exception, of course. And the second had just walked in.

Jack picked up his glass, and wandered down the other end of the bar, most charming smile on his face. "Nice suit."

"Thanks." The newcomer looked at him, blue eyes bright and intense even in the dim light. "Nice coat."

"Thanks," Jack echoed, "Want something to drink?"

"Actually, I came in here for the fun family atmosphere and fantastic music." The sarcasm was so thick it was almost palpable.

Jack smirked. "Whiskey?"

"Neat."

Jack nodded approvingly, indicating to the bartender his choice, and ordering another for himself. "So, do I get a name?"

"Ianto. You?"

"Captain Jack Harkness, at your service." He extended his neck, in a motion that was almost a bow, and Ianto smirked.

"I certainly hope so."

"Of course, I didn't get a last name, Ianto…"

Despite his terrible attempt at fishing for details, Ianto decided to humour the man. "Jones. Ianto Jones."

Jack tilted his head in a considering fashion. "Have we met before? Your name seems oddly familiar."

Ianto chuckled, a low and dirty sound that made Jack's toes curl. "There must be a thousand Welsh men out there named Ianto Jones. I hate to break it to you, but it's a fairly common name."

"I guess so." He tilted his glass in Ianto's direction. "To the prettiest, if not only, Ianto Jones in Wales."

Ianto woke with his hands cuffed above his head. His wrists tensed, but he made no other movement, hoping to catch his captor off guard.

"I've been around long enough to know when a man is faking it, Ianto Jones." The American twang suddenly sounded less attractive, and Ianto's eyes opened to glare at Jack.

"Before we start again," he said, forcing his voice to stay casually flirtatious and not at all nervous, "you should know, my safe word is 'Hooligan'."

"Really? But that's an issue to explore another time, Ianto. See, I don't forget the name of someone as pretty as you in a hurry. So, last night, after you were all… worn out, I had a quick look on the computers to see how I knew your name."

His mind raced over the possibilities. Jack's accent pointed toward UNIT, but the few times he'd run into anyone from there, it had been for consultation work. Could be CIA, NSA, MIB, or MI5, but he hadn't done anything recently to draw attention to himself. Who would possibly be looking for him?

Ianto breathed out slowly, internally reciting expletives in thirteen languages, only six of which were human. "Torchwood Three, I presume."

"Mmmhmm." Jack sounded far too pleased with himself considering how little he had done to catch Ianto. "Seven hundred and ninety six employees at Torchwood One. Seven hundred and fifty-three dead, forty-two ret-conned. And you, Ianto Jones. The only one to slip through the cracks."

Ianto laughed, bitter and loud. "We all slipped through the cracks, Captain Harkness. All of us. I'm just the only one who stayed there. Now cut the crap. I would rather die than live without my memories of Lisa, so why don't you just pull out the gun, and get it over with."

"There is one other option, you know." Jack was looking far too casual. Ianto hadn't survived this long without knowing how to read people, and his instincts were telling him that Jack was up to something.

"And what other option would that be?" It slipped out, Ianto curious despite his misgivings.

"Come work for me."

"This job offer. Is it solely based on the fact that I managed to stay away from Torchwood for three years? Because I hate to break it to you, but it wasn't that hard." He was doing his best to keep up with the verbal war, but mused that it might be easier bargaining from a position of power if he weren't only partially covered by a pale blue sheet, which slid down further with every movement.

"You'd be surprised at how few people can stay away from me when I want them." The grin Jack shot at Ianto was supremely confident. "Why wouldn't I hire you? According to the various files I've seen on you, you'd be perfect. Fluent in several languages, proficient in both hand to hand combat and with most weapons, a photographic memory, and according to some very reputable sources, producer of, and I quote, 'the best coffee in three galaxies'."

"Plus, I look great in a suit."

Jack ran his eyes up and down Ianto, and smiled slow and lazy. "Even better out of it. So?"

"You want an answer now?" Ianto asked incredulously.

"I don't really see why you need to think so hard. Come work for me, or forget that this ever happened. Simple choices."

When Ianto spoke, it was in a hard, harsh tone. "You really are a bastard, aren't you? Don't answer that."

Jack didn't move, still staring directly at the other man.

"Fine. I'll work for you. But two years, that's all you get."

"Four." Jack bargained instantly.

"Three."

"Great." From the way he was beaming, Ianto guessed that three years was what Jack had wanted all along.


	2. Chapter 2

AN: You guys should love and worship me forever. A new chapter this soon? And this long? Worship! Also, I'm sorry if any of the team come off weird, tell me if they feel wrong to you, and why, and I'll try fixing it next time. Adios!

Jack crooked one arm out in invitation, and beckoned to Ianto. "What's the matter? Don't trust me?"

"Not even a little bit." Ianto looked at the cobble stones with distaste. "You're saying that this is the only way into the Hub?"

"Well… not the only way." Jack admitted. "But definitely the most fun."

"And we can't just go in a back door? Or a service elevator? It all seems rather showy." Ianto commented, staring up at the huge water tower dominating the landscape.

"Look, just get on the damn lift, will you?"

"Fine." Ianto conceded, stepping up next to Jack. "But for the record, I think that this is an overly extravagant waste of technology. Doesn't rain get in and ruin things?"

"No, rain does not get in. And, to pre-emptively answer your next question, no, people don't fall down it either. Beautiful accents, beautiful population, but sometimes, I really hate the Welsh." Jack, who was definitely pouting, tapped his wrist strap and the stones descended, carrying them both down into the Hub.

A world of new and unique technology lay before them, the only resemblance to the planet above was that the water tower still drew the eye. Casting his eye over the room, Ianto noticed several things that stood out. A sub-etheric resonator for one thing, that he'd only ever seen pictures of, stood beside a bench on which several artefacts were in the process of being examined, some he recognised, some he didn't. A giant animal flew past, cawing loudly, and Ianto frowned. "Was that a pteronadon?"

"Yes. Just caught her a few weeks ago actually, she'd been living in a Cardiff warehouse for quite some time."

They landed lightly at the bottom and stepped off, Jack either brushing some dust from their passage off Ianto in a gentlemanly fashion, or shamelessly taking the opportunity to grope his new employee. Probably both, mused Ianto.

"Gang! Huddle time!" Jack shouted, voice reaching every corner of the Hub and garnering three immediate responses. A head popped up from under a console of computers, safety goggles removed as she went, to reveal a pretty Asian woman. Two more ascended from a room marked 'Cold Storage', mussed clothes and flushed cheeks pointing toward something other than work being done. As they came closer, Ianto noticed a sparkling engagement ring on the gap-toothed woman's hand, and none on the man's. Interesting.

"Jack, who's this?" It was the engaged one speaking, but all three looked curious.

Jack clapped a hand on Ianto's shoulder, tacitly supporting him. "This is Ianto Jones, newest team member. Ianto, this is Tosh, Gwen, and Owen, my technology, police, and medical people."

"Hold on," Gwen put in, frowning, "I have to chase you down, fight the retcon, and find this place to get hired, and he just waltzes in? What's he even going to do around here?"

"Well," drawled Ianto, "I could start by cleaning up." He cast a doubtful eye over the teetering piles of paper work, propped up with half-full coffee mugs and pizza boxes which littered every flat surface. "And it's been said that I make a mean cup of coffee."

"I'm sold." Owen smirked, and leant forward. "I take mine black, three sugars. Ta."

"Owen!" hissed Tosh, "That's so rude!"

"What? He offered." Owen defended himself.

"Ianto's going to be our archivist, as well as an extra hand for field work. And by the way Owen, he's technically senior to you when it comes to working with Torchwood." Leaving behind the spluttering Owen, Jack extended his arm to encompass the Hub, and grinned his patented movie star grin at Ianto. "Come on, let me give you the grand tour."

"You know, I already know where everything is. Torchwood One had blueprints of this place." Ianto whispered, leaning in close to Jack.

"I know. They just need some time to gossip about you." Jack replied, steering Ianto up a curving metal flight of stairs and along a walkway. Down the other end, Ianto could see an exotic greenhouse, which he was itching to have a look at, but they were headed in the opposite direction, toward an ordinary looking office.

"Where are we going then?"

"My office. I figured you would appreciate my desk - solid oak, very sturdy." Jack winked, making the word 'sturdy' seem lewder than Ianto had ever thought possible. "And here we are."

Jack pushed open the door, beaming proudly at Ianto. "What do you think?"

"I think…" Ianto started, looking around the office, "that all I want to do right now…"

He paused, and Jack moved closer, resting a hand on Ianto's hip. "Yes?" He breathed into Ianto's ear, almost enticing enough to change the Welshman's plans.

"Is organise this place." Ianto finished.

Jack drew back like his fingertips were on fire. "It is?"

"Yes." Ianto headed purposely for the highest stack of paper in the room.

"There's nothing else you'd rather do?"

"Not that I can think of." He bent over, standing up with an armload of what were either important UNIT documents or receipts from a Cardiff drainage company, and noted Jack staring at his arse with some satisfaction. "Was there something else you wanted to do?"

"I had some thoughts."

Ianto ran his eyes up and down the Captain, barely hiding his mischievous grin. "Oh, yes? What was something more pressing I start with?"

Jack stepped closer again, until their hips were almost touching. "I think you can guess."

"I don't know." Ianto screwed up his face in mock thought. "These seem fairly urgent."

"They're drainage receipts from a year ago. They can wait." Jack growled, and pressed his lips to Ianto's, almost devouring the younger man.

A sudden blare of sirens shocked them apart, Ianto still looking far too impeccable for Jack's liking.

"Of all the bloody times…" Jack muttered, straightening his coat. "Three long sirens means…"

"Weevils. Will I be joining you, sir?"

"Oh God… You cannot do that to me." Jack stalked out.

"Do what, sir?" Ianto looked far too innocent, knowing exactly what calling him 'sir' did.

"Do you have weapons?"

"Yes. Sheathed with a chameleon circuit, I wear them all the time." Jack nodded, and they took the stairs down two at a time, meeting Owen at the bottom.

"Tosh and Gwen are getting geared up, I'll go bring the SUV around. Is Teaboy coming?" Ianto noted that, for all Owen's careless words, his hands were steady as he loaded his gun and looked to Jack for an answer.

"Yeah, he might as well. Get him a can of spray."

Owen tossed a sloppy salute in their direction and headed off toward the garage.

"So, Ianto Jones. You ready for a weevil hunt?"

Ianto shot Jack an impatient look. "I've been free-lancing for three years. This is hardly my first hunt."

"But I bet this is the best company you've ever had on a hunt."

"Usually it's just me and the alien, so…" Ianto shrugged. "Not the worst, anyway. But some of them have been surprisingly friendly other than the whole 'trying to kill me' thing."

"I can be friendlier." Jack promised as they got into a far less obtrusive lift than they had entered by. Ianto made a mental note to stick to this one whenever possible.

"I'll bet." he answered, giving Jack a sidelong look. "I'll bet."


	3. Chapter 3

AN: Alright, random piece of info. A while back, there was a Torchwood fanvid, called So Damn Hot, about Captain Jack. Fabulous prize to anyone who can find that for me (and by fabulous prize, I actually mean fairly crappy prize. A fic, maybe, or character named after you? Whatever.) Also, I own nothing, yada yada, BBC is God, etc.

Less than an hour ago, he'd had a ravening Weevil so close to his face that he could smell it's breath before he managed to put it down with the judicious application of a taser and the spray Jack had handed him.

Thirty minutes ago, he'd helped Owen drag them down to the cells, noting with some satisfaction that he seemed to intimidate his Weevil a lot more easily than the medic. It possibly had something to do with the hundred and fifty thousand volts he had just sent through the creatures spine.

Now he was surrounded by two members of the Torchwood team, whose insatiable appetite for gossip was somehow more terrifying than the idea that an alien life form would try to eat his face.

"So, what do you know about Jack?" Owen was the one to ask, leaning over his carton of Chinese and pointing chopsticks at Ianto.

He frowned. "I only met him yesterday. Shouldn't that be my question?"

"You two just seemed…" Tosh appeared to be searching for a way to put it delicately. "Close. We thought you might know something interesting about him."

Ianto paused. "Interesting, in what sense?"

"It's Jack. He doesn't do anything dull. If you know something, it's bound to be interesting." Owen pointed out.

"I don't know much." Ianto shrugged, preferring to leave the contents of Jack's files at Torchwood One private. "I'm sure you and Gwen know more. Where is she, anyway?"

From the identically suspicious looks shot in his direction, Ianto surmised that they weren't even mildly fooled. Thankfully, Tosh humoured him, and answered, "Making coffee."

Her answer was proven right as the Welsh woman teetered down the stairs, carefully balancing five cups on what looked like an old James Bond paperback.

"Here we are. Ianto, love, I wasn't sure how you liked yours. Milk and two sugars okay?"

Ianto, who normally took his coffee pure black with no sugar, nodded, and took a sip from the purple cup he was handed.

"You alright?" Owen looked concerned, which seemed to be a rarity for him.

Ianto's face turned red, but he nodded, and tried not to gag. Once he'd finally forced down the mouthful, he smiled weakly. "Delicious. A little hot for now, though." He placed the cup on a desk with the care of a bomb squad specialist, and leaned away from it slightly, trying to avoid even getting the scent anywhere near him.

He glanced up, searching for any distraction that might allow his cup to join the multitudes that appeared to be nesting around the hub. Jack was standing in his office, arms crossed and a pensive expression on his face. His gaze seemed to settle on each team member in turn, before landing on Ianto's upturned face. Despite the distance that separated them, Ianto could practically feel Jack's warm lips on his neck, his hands on Ianto's face.

His eyes startled back to Tosh as she stood up, apparently in response to a quiet beeping emerging from one of her consoles. To be honest, he had been hearing so many varied noises from the machines all day that they had started to become background noise, like the gentle sound of water falling in the tower, Myfanwy's crowing for treats, and the hum of computers and alien gadgets.

"That's odd."

Everyone whipped around to stare at Tosh - it took a lot for anything to be considered odd in a job which made most movies look tame.

She smiled over at them, "It's probably nothing. Just a weird reading of energy. I'll go tell Jack, see if he knows what's going on."

Ianto, made curious by the strange reaction of a normally unshakable Tosh, wandered over to her computer. He didn't have the experience of the woman, but he could immediately see what had caught her attention.

"Bloody hell…" Came the mild response of Owen, who was leaning over Ianto's shoulder.

Gwen raised her eyebrows and tilted her head sideways. "I'm pretty sure it's never done that before. Does anyone know what that is?"

"Not a clue. How about you, Teaboy?"

Ianto shook his head. The screen in front of them showed energy readings for Cardiff, probably a program created by Tosh to help with her ideas of rift prediction. The readings for the last year had been fairly steady - slight variations as people turned on and off electrical equipment, lightning struck, or power went out in certain parts, but nothing like this.

"It looks," Owen continued, wetting his lips nervously, "like a heart monitor for Cardiff. If Cardiff just flat-lined, that is."

That was the perfect analogy, Ianto had to agree, looking at the previous steady blips, and now, nothing. The graph had taken an immediate vertical drop, down almost to zero, and Ianto had a sudden, horrible idea.

"Gwen, pull out your mobile."

Confused but cooperative, the other woman did as she was told, groaning as she saw a black screen. "I just charged that last night. What's going on?"

"I don't know." The authoritative voice of Captain Jack came as he marched down the stairs, Tosh trailing behind like a tug boat behind a barge. "But I intend to find out."

"We better do it soon." Tosh looked around the hub, face serious. "Because nothing purely earth powered is working, and it's not just Cardiff." She waved her hand held monitor around. "I widened the search parameters, and the result is the same everywhere."

"Sounds like a good time to be Amish, then." Owen remarked dryly.

"Doesn't sound like a good time to be anyone on earth." Jack's mouth was set firmly as he stared his team down. "The human race is virtually defenceless, and I get the feeling someone is planning on taking advantage of the fact."

"Oh my God," Gwen gasped, "we'll be like sheep to the slaughter."

Jack nodded grimly. "Exactly."


	4. Chapter 4

Jack quickly took control of the situation.

"Alright. Tosh, you stay here. See if you can find a cause for all this, talk to the other agencies, see if they know what's going on. Gwen, I want you to warn the police, the hospitals, everyone. Tell them to expect chaos. Owen, Ianto, you're with me. There's one major source of energy left in Cardiff, and we're going to check it out."

Everyone nodded, and broke apart, Tosh and Gwen heading for work stations, the others for the door. Jack threw Owen a hand-held computer, which the medic caught easily in one hand.

"What do you want me to do with this?" Owen sounded aggrieved, prodding vaguely at buttons.

"No sat-nav. Tosh has put a map on there, to help us find our energy source. You get to be navigator." Grinning, Jack continued walking, apparently deaf to the numerous and varied slurs Owen was producing in his general direction.

The car trip was a little more tense than usual. Despite Jack's genial attitude, no one could forget the fact that any technology that was earth based was non-functional, including every defensive capability on the planet. Add that to the fact that, when Owen shouted a direction for Jack to head in, Jack would drive that way without taking any notice of petty concerns like pedestrians, other cars, or public landmarks, and Ianto was feeling distinctly uneasy by the time they arrived in a field in the middle of nowhere.

"It's a paddock."

"Thanks for that, Owen. Any more pearls of wisdom, or can we start looking for this damn thing?"

Owen glared at Jack. "What I meant, was I thought we were heading for a power station, or a nuclear facility, or something. Not this."

He extended one arm, gesturing at the peaceful country side. A black and white cow stared at them suspiciously from the other side of a hedge, buttercups littered the grass, and birds sang peacefully. An idyllic day, that was wasted on the three men, who stared suspiciously back at the cow, avoided or stepped on the buttercups, and glared at any birds that made a peep.

Ianto cleared his throat, drawing the attention of the others. "What exactly are we looking for again?"

"The power source. Alien energy, when our world has none. Bit odd, thought we should maybe have a look-see. Alternatively, you could look for the perfect flower to pin in your button hole." Owen's voice was so aggressively cheerful it could be marketed as a weapon.

"Thank you, Owen. Most illuminating. I did, however, have one point I'd like to clarify." Ianto's spoke sweetly, enjoying the scowl which covered the other man's face. "What exactly, does the power source look like?"

The team stared at each other in annoyance. Jack was the first to give in, admitting, "I have no idea. Grid search, easy-peasy, over in no time."

A moment longer of mutual glaring, and they split up to search, Owen tapping his monitor every few steps, as though hoping for something more specific to appear.

Ianto found searching through the long grass oddly cathartic. Casually nudging aside long blades with one impeccably polished shoe, he could almost forget that the human race was in danger. Spotting a small white ball the size of a really good marble - the kind that were useless for playing with, but the object of much envy amongst a certain type of eight year old boy. He reached down and picked it up, turning it over in his hands, looking for any distinguishing marks.

"I found something!" He raised his voice, and the others drew near.

Owen ran his little machine over the marble and shrugged. "Could be it."

"What do you mean, 'could be it'?' Jack asked irritably. "You have the scanner, shouldn't you know for sure?"

"It's tricky stuff," Owen pointed out, "and I haven't had much practice with it. Look, I'm pretty certain it's the right thing. We can take it back, get Tosh to take a look."

Jack nodded, still annoyed, and they walked back to the car, cow ignoring them by now. Looking up, Ianto was surprised to see how far down in the sky the sun was. Somehow, time had slipped away while they searched the field.

When they arrived back, Tosh was waiting, an eager look on her face. "I saw the energy source moving this way, and I assumed you had it." As she spoke, she was glancing around, as though expecting a huge object to be hiding behind them.

She was, Ianto thought ruefully, going to be disappointed when she saw the marble. Or not, he wordlessly amended, seeing the delight on her face at the sight of the thing.

"Oh, it's beautifully constructed." Her clever fingers danced over the surface, searching for any hidden mechanisms or buttons.

"Fantastic. To be honest, we weren't even sure whether it was what we were looking for." Owen admitted, chucking the scanner onto Tosh's desk. It spoke volumes about her preoccupation that she didn't even protest the rough treatment of one of her toys.

"Wait a minute," she started, staring at Owen over the rims of her glasses, "Why didn't you just use the scanner? I taught you and Gwen how to calibrate that a few weeks ago."

Owen's face was blank as he stared at her.

"Remember? During the meeting I called?"

Judging from Owen's reddening ears, he did remember Tosh's meeting. However, Ianto was willing to bet quite significant amounts of money that Owen and Gwen had been slightly distracted during said meeting. He quickly hid a smirk that was rushing to the surface, wandering in Gwen's direction instead. Jack fell in step with him, both electing to leave Owen to Tosh's wrath.

"What's been going on?" Jack asked quietly, running his fingertips down her arm.

Gwen turned to them. "Not much, there's been some grumbling, but none of the mass panic we feared. We've spread the story that a tree fell on a key power line, and that's why Cardiff is cut out. They won't find out that it's world wide until televisions come back on, which won't be until it's all over."

"Great." Ianto nodded fervently.

"And the hospitals?"

A look of sadness passed across Gwen's face. "Life support is out, none of their generators work." She bit her lip, clearly trying to gather her courage. "We could help them, Jack," She blurted suddenly. "We have alien generators, they work."

"Yeah, and without them, Torchwood is blind and helpless. You have to weigh the numbers, Gwen."

Gwen nodded reluctantly, turning back to her screen and blinking back tears.

Ianto turned away, feeling like he was intruding, and headed for the coffee machine. It was shiny, new, and looked untouched, sitting next to an old-fashioned pot of burnt coffee scented sludge. Ianto couldn't see anything wrong with the newer model at a cursory glance, so he shrugged and poured out five cups. Milk and two sugars for Gwen and Owen, black with one for Jack, and black with three for Tosh. Pure black for himself of course, as Ianto had never dreamed of tainting his coffee with additives.

He carried them downstairs carefully, taking each step slowly and smoothly, trying not to let a single drop of Torchwood's life-blood spill. He was nearly at the bottom when a shockwave rocked the hub, throwing Ianto against one railing and the rest of the team into disarray.

As the quake ceased, Ianto looked down at his tray, and noted with some satisfaction, that he had still spilt less than Gwen or Owen did on their average trips down with mugs. Gazing around the hub, he realised with some trepidation that it hadn't all been so smooth, as the entire base was in disarray, and the team scattered like nine-pins.

"Alright." Jack rose up with great dignity, dust falling off his coat and scowl firmly affixed to his face. "Who the _hell is bombing my base?"_


End file.
